Electrically operated toy shooting range



ELECTRICALLY OPERATED .TOY SHOOTING RANGE Filed Oct. 11, 1955 Sept. 3, 1957 M. GLASS ET AL 4 Sheets-Sheet l I l nll bl alllll III Sept. 3, 1957 1, GLASS ET AL 2,805,064

ELECTRICALLY OPERATED TOY SHOOTING RANGE Sept. 3, 1957 M, L GLASS ET AL 2,805,064

ELECTRICALLY OPERATEDO TOY SHOOTING RANGE Filed Oct. 11, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Sept. 3, 1957 GLASS ETAL 2,805,064

ELECTRICALLY OPERATED TOY SHOOTING RANGE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed L st, ll, 1955 L MW m; w r mwu United States Paten Q ELECTRICALLY OPERATED TOY SHOOTING RANGE Marvin I. Glass and Charles Pearson, Jr., (Ihicago, Ill.

1 Application @etober 11, 1955, Serial No. 539,730

6 Claims. (Cl. 273101.2)

' j This invention relates to a toy shooting range which is electrically operated.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a toy shooting range which is electrically operated and which by a proper sighting of the gun on the target and actuation of the gun closes the circuit to operate signal means to indicate that the target has been hit.

' Another object is to provide an electrically operated toy shooting range which eliminates the use of. projectiles striking the target but which utilizes the closing of an electricalcircuit to operate signal means when contact has been established by the proper sighting of the gun on the target. f' a Another object of this invention is to provide an electrically. operated toy target range which simulates the operation of the photo electric cell principle in that when the gun is properly alined with the rotating target point and the trigger actuated the signal means will indicate that the target has been hit.

Another object of this invention is to provide a rotating target having spaced bulls eyes or target points to be aimed at, and a contact disc rotatable with said rotating target which contact disc has spaced contact points positioned in a definite relation to said bulls eyes and the axes of rotation of the gun so that when the gun is properly alined with said bulls eyes the circuit will be. closed through said contact points to indicate that the bulls eye has been hit. The aforementioned elements are so positioned that respective lines drawn through the centers of each of the bulls eyes and corresponding contact points all pass through the point of intersection-f the pivotal axes of the gun.

Another object of this invention is to provide a toy target range which requires skill in the sighting of the target, whch is highly amusing and entertaining, which is comparatively inexpensive to manufacture, which is safe'for use by any child, which is durable'and will not easily get out of order, and which is operated by small dry cell batteries.

Other objects will become apparent as this description progresses.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the unit without the gun.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the gun.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational View of the gun.

Fig. 4 is a detail longitudinal section of the shooting gallery.

Fig. 5 is a face view of the revolving target and driving means taken on line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an end view looking toward the target with the gun removed.

Fig. 7 is a front elevational view of the gun.

Fig. 8 is a schematic of the wiring diagram.

Fig. 9 is a schematic of a modified wiring diagram, and

Fig. 10 is a perspective view taken on lines 10 10 of Fig. 1. i

The shooting gallery is an integral unit and includes thereto which in turn is fixedly secured toa horizontal therethrough.

r 2,8fi5fi64 Patented Sept. 3, .1957

the gun member generally indicated at 10 whichis at the forward portion of the unit and the target which is generally indicated by the numeral 12 which is at the rear portion'of the toy. The flat base 14 which is generally of the shape shown in plan in Fig. 1 supports an upright housing generally'indicated at 16 which supports the batteries and certain of the parts, which housing extends centrally and longitudinally of the base. Secured to front end of the base 14 and upright housing 16 is a stand 18 on which is mounted, as will be subsequently described the gun and certain of the electrical contacts. Secured to the rear of .the base 14 and upright housing 16 is a vertical target housinggenerally indicated at.20 which is at right angles to the. upright housing 16 and within which is supported the rotating target. .The front wall 21 of the target housing 20 is cut away as at 22 in the form of a sector so that therotating targetis visible ice Referring firstto the target section 11 there is provided a rotatable target disc 24 which has a hub 25 secured rod 26 extending longitudinally of the unit. The rod 26 extends through an opening 27 in the front wall 21 of the target housing and isenclosed within the upright housingl6'. The rod 26 is rotatably supported in apair of spaced supports 28 secured to the top of housing16 The front endof rod 26 supports a contact disc 30 which has its hub 32 fixedly secured to the rod 26 to rotate therewith. The contact disc 30 thus rotates simultaneously with'the rotation of target disc 24. The top of stand 18 has a slot through Whichthe contact'disc30 extends. The contactdiscsll is in parallel alinement with the target disc 24. Fixedly mounted in the target housing 20 on the base thereof is a small electric motor 32 having a worm 34 which drives a gear 36 journalled on a support 38. The gear 36 has a shaft 40 havinga rubber bushing 41. The bushing 41 engages the peripheraledge of the target disc 24 to rotate said disc.

The front oftarget disc 24 is provided with pictorial representations of various animals 42 spaced around the surface of said disc which forms the target area and each of'said figures has a circular space which is indicated by the numerals 1 to 4 inclusive on Fig. 5 which represents the target to be aimed at and represents the bulls' eye.

As the target disc 24 is rotating only one animal at a time will be presented for viewing throughthe arcuate,

shaped opening 27 of the target housing, as best seen in Fig. 6. The other figures remain hidden behind the front ofthe target housing and each figure is successively brought into view as the disc continues rotating.

The contact disc 30 is made of insulating material and the face of said contact disc is provided with four spaced contacts 44 to 47 which contacts are connected to' the will be subsequently described in connection with the circuit diagram.

The gun generally indicated by the numeral 10 is mounted on the stand 18 so that it may be horizontally and vertically moved to be directed to the targetareaas the disc isrotating. The gun comprises ahollow. shell member 52 having a reduced hollow barrel portion 54.

The gun has a depending stub 56 which fits within't'he yoked end 58 of a supporting. shaft' 60 and is secured thereto -by'a pin 62'which immovably locks thetwo together. The lower end of supporting shaft has two opposed fiat surfaces 64 which fit between the upstanding ears 66 of a supporting plate 67 and is pivotally connected to said ears 66 by a pin 68. The supporting plate 6 7 is rotatably connected to the top of stand 18 by a pin 70.

The gun may be thus rotated about a. horizontal axis and may also be pivoted about a vertical axis. Secured to the shaft 60 and extending rearwardly thereof is an elongated tubular member 72 which is made of an electrical insulating material having an enlarged bore 73 at the rear end thereof which communicates with a smaller bore 74 extending through the body of said member. Positioned within the enlarged bore 73 is a metal tapered pin 75 and a metal coil spring 76. interposed between the end of said pin and shoulder 77 to normally urge said pin rearwardly or in the direction of the contact disc 30, as best shown in Fig. 4. A conducting wire is connected to the coil spring 76 and extends through the reduced bore for electrical connection as will be explained in connection with the electrical diagram of Fig. 8.

Mounted within the interior of the body of the gun is a switch member 80 in which the spring fingers of the switch are normally out of contact with each other so .that the switch is in open position. Pivotally mounted as at 81 on the handle 82 of the gun is a trigger 84 which 'is held in non-actuating position by means of a leaf spring 186 secured in the body of the handle. When the trigger 84 is retracted or moved to the right as shown in Fig. 3,

the upper end 85 of the trigger will move the switch 80 to closing position to close the electrical circuit as will be subsequently described.

, Mounted in the hollow barrel 54 of the gun is a light bulb 88 which is electrically connected in the circuit. It will be noted that the front end of the barrel 54 adjacent the light bulb is made of transparent material while the rest of the gun is made opaque. Extending upwardly of the barrel adjacent the light bulb 88 is a front sight 90 which is also made of transparent material so that the light from the light bulb 88 in addition to passing out throughjthe front of the gun barrel is also directed upwardly through the sighter 90. The top of the gun hasa rear sight 92 which is a hollow cylindrical member. Secured to the topof the stand 18 is a cover 94 whichencloses the contact disc 30 and tubular member 72 and attendant parts. The front of the cover is inclined and has a slot 95 which accommodates the shaft 60. The

'rear wall of the cover is slotted as at 95a to accommodate the rod 26. Secured to the underside of the cover is the main 'switch 96. The switch. has a slideable contact 97 L manually operable by a slide button 98 to close the switch.

The main switch 96 must be closed to start the device in operation The. batteries B are dry cell batteries which supply the'current and they are supported within the upright housing 16.

Secured. to the inside of the cover 94 is a guide plate or wall'99 which has an arcuate shaped cutout 100. The

movement of the tubular member 72 is confined within the area of the arcuate shaped cutout 100 and since the tubular member is connected to the shaft 60 on which ,the gun is supported and moves. correspondingly with tive contact points 44 to 47 of. the rotating contactdisc 30 thus closing the circuit so that when thetrigger 84 is actuated the switch 80 is closedso. that the light bulb 4 88 is lit and simultaneously energizing bulb 104 and bell 102.-

Inside of the target housing 20 the vibrator unit of bell 102 is mounted which is adapted to strike the bell mounted forwardly of the target housing. Also supported at the top of the target housing 20 is a light bulb 104 which is enclosed within a casing 106 on which is inscribed the word Hit. When the target has been hit, as will be subsequently described, both the bell 102 rings and the signal light 104 illuminates thus indicating to the participant that the target has been hit.

The circuit diagram on Fig. 8 will now be described.

The dry cell batteries designated by the letter B are arranged in series. By closing the main switch 96, current flows from the positive terminal of the battery B, through conductor 110, through main switch 96, conductors 112, 113, motor 32, conductors 114, 115, to the negative terminal of the battery. The motor 32 will be energized to rotate the target disc 24 and simultaneously rotate the contact disc 30 which carries the contacts 44 to 47. 7 By pulling the trigger 84, switch 80 is closed, then when tapered pin 75 engages one of the contact points 44 to 47 on the contact disc 30, for the interval of contact, current will flow from a tap on conductor 112, through conductor 116, tapered pin 75, through any of the contacts 44 to 47, through the metal plate 48 on the rear of contact disc 33, wiper arm 50, conductors 118, 120, 122, switch 80, conductors 124, 126, 128, lamp 88 to light same, conductors 130, 132, to the negative terminal of the battery.

Concurrently current flows from tap 136 on conductor 126, through conductors 138, 140, 142, through signal lamp 104 and bell 102, the same being connected in parallel, through conductors 144, 146, 132, 115 to the negative terminal of the battery. When the current flows through signal lamp 104 and bell 102 both will be simultaneously energized to indicate that the target has been hit.

If desired, with a modification of the wiring diagram the light bulb 88 in the gun can be illuminated when the trigger 84 is actuated to close the switch 80, even though the tapered pin 75 is out of contact with the contact points 44 to 47, thus more nearly simulating an arrangement in which a photo electric cell is used. The schematic view shown in Fig. 9 will serve said purpose and operates as follows.

By: closing. main switch 96, current from battery B will flow through conductor through motor 32 to operate same and rotate the target disc 24, through conductors 151; 152 to the negative terminal of the battery. When the switch 80 has been closed by actuating the trigger 84 of'the' gun the current willflow from conduc tor 150 through conductor 153, light 88 in the gun to illuminate same, through conductor 154 through switch 80'to the negative terminal of the battery.

When contact is established between tapered pin 75 and any one of the contact points 44 to 47 inclusive on the contact disc 33, as when the gun is properly sighted on the target disc, the current will fiow'from conductor 153 to signal lamp 104, conductors 156, 157 through one of said contact points 44 to 47 inclusive, tapered pin 75, conductor 158 through switch 80 to the negative terminal of the battery. Simultaneously current from conductor 153 flows through buzzer 102, through conductor 157 and contact-points 44 to 47 through tapered pin 75 through conductor 158, through switch 80 to the negative terminal of the battery thus 1 simultaneously energizing the signal lamp 104 and bell 102.

As previously indicated the positioning of-the contact points 44 to 47 are in a definite relation to the bulls-eyes 1 to 4 on the rotating target and the axis of rotation of the gun. The intersection of the axes of rotation of the gun designated at 69 which is the center point of pin 68 is located at a pointcorrcsponding to the intersection of {all of the lines passing through the centers contact points 44 to 47 on the contact disc 30 and through the centers of corresponding bulls-eyes 1 to 4 on the target disc 24. For example, bulls-eye 1 and its corresponding contact point 46 are in a line which intersects the axes of rotation of the target disc 24 and contact disc 30 and also the intersection of the axes of rotation 69 of the gun. Within this line, bulls-eye 1, contact point 46, and the intersection of the axes of rotation 69 of the gun lie on the hypothenuse of a right angle triangle whose sides are the axis of rotation of the aforementioned discs and a radius on the target disc through the bulls-eyes. The same is correspondingly true with respect to bullseye 2 and contact point 47, bulls-eye 3 and contact point 44, bulls-eye 4 and contact point 45.

Briefly described, closing the main switch 96 causes the motor 32 to rotate the target disc 24 and contact disc 30. If the gun is properly sighted on the bull's-eyes 1 to 4 of the target disc and the trigger 84 of the gun is retracted, the light bulb 88 in the gun and the signal light 104 and bell 102 will all go on simultaneously to indicate that the bulls-eye has been bit. If, however, the gun is not properly sighted in relation to the bulls-eye the pulling of the trigger 84 will not energize any of the foregoing. In the modified schematic view of Fig. 9 the operation of the foregoing is the same except that the light bulb 88 in the gun goes on when the gun trigger is pulled irrespective of whether a bulls-eye is scored.

This toy gives the participant the illusion that he is operating a toy gun controlled by a photo electric cell, thus adding greatly to the participants enteftainment.

The gun is so mounted on its support that it can move and follow the target figure in the entire open area of the target during the entire movement of said target figure through said open area.

The toy can be made very inexpensively and skill is required in alining the gun with the bulls-eyes of the moving target for unless it is perfectly alined therewith there will be no score or hitting of the target. As previously stated the participant is under the illusion that it is an electronically operated magic eye and that the beam of light fro-m the barrel of the gun in alinement with the target area is what is causing the action to take place. The toy is highly amusing and entertaining.

It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made from the foregoing without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In an electrically operated shooting range com-prising a housing, a vertically positioned target rotatably supported on a horizontal axis at one end of said housing, a gun exposed in full view and movably supported at the opposite end of said housing in spaced relation to said target to provide an exposed open area between said gun and target, a movable contact member movable simultaneously with the movement of said gun, a plate positioned adjacent said movable contact member and having a plurality of spaced contact elements, means extending between said target and said plate to connect same so that they rotate simultaneously, power means for rotating said target and said plate, signal means connected in electrical circuit with said movable contact member and said plate, said movable contact member adapted when the gun is properly aligned with the target to engage said contact elements to close the circuit to operate said signal means.

2. In an electrically operated shooting range comprising a housing, a vertically positioned target rotatably supported on a horizontal axis at one end of said housing, a gunexposed in full view and movably supported at the opposite end of said housing in spaced relation to said target to provide an exposed open area between said gun and target, a contact member movable simultaneously with the movement of said gun, a vertically positioned disc positioned adjacent said contact member and said disc, signal means connected in electrical circuit with said contact member and said disc, said contact member adapted when the gun is properly aligned with the target to engage said contact points to close the circuit to operate said signal member.

3. In an electrically operated shooting range comprising a housing, a vertically positioned target rotatably supported on a horizontal axis adjacent one end of said housing, a gun exposed in full view and movably supported adjacent the opposite end of said housing in spaced relation to said target to provide an exposed open area between said gun and target, a contact member movable simultaneously with the movement of said gun, a vertically positioned plate positioned adjacent said contact member and arranged parallel to said target, said plate having a plurality of spaced contact points, connecting means extending between said target and said plate to connect same so that they rotate simultaneously, and power means for rotating said target to simultaneously rotate said plate through said connecting means so that said contact member engages said contact points when said gun is properly aligned with said target.

4. In an electrically operated shooting range comprising a housing, a horizontal shaft supported by said housing, a vertically positioned target supported on said honzontal shaft at one end of said housing for rotation with said shaft, a gun supported in full view and movably mounted at the opposite end of said housing in spaced relation to said target to provide an exposed open area between said gun and target, a movable contact member movable simultaneously with the movement of said gun, a plate vertically supported on said shaft for rotation with said shaft, said plate being arranged parallel to said target, said plate being positioned adjacent said movable contact member and having a plurality of spaced contact points, power means for rotating said target, plate and shaft simultaneously, a signal member connected in electrical circuit with said movable contact member and said plate, said movable contact member adapted when the gun is properly aligned with the target to engage said 7 contact points to close the circuit to operate said signal member.

5. In an electrically operated shooting range comprising a housing, a horizontal shaft supported by said housing, a vertically positioned target supported on said horizontal shaft at one end of said housing for rotation with said shaft, a gun supported in full view and movably mounted at the opposite end of said housing in spaced relation to said target to provide an exposed open area between said gun and target, a movable contact member movable simultaneously with the movement of said gun, a disc vertically supported on said shaft for rotation with said shaft, said disc being arranged parallel to said target, said disc being positioned adjacent said movable contatct member and having a plurality of spaced contact points, power means for rotating said target, disc and shaft simultaneously so that said movable contact member engages said contact points when said gun is properly aligned with the target.

6. In an electrically operated shooting range comprising a housing, a horizontal shaft supported by said housing, a vertically positioned target supported on said horizontal shaft at one end of said housing for rotation with said shaft, a gun supported in full view and movably mounted at the opposite end of said housing in spaced relation to said target to provide an exposed open area between said gun and target, a movable contact member movable simultaneously with the movement of said gun, a disc vertically supported on said shaft for rotation with said shaft, said disc being arranged parallel to said target, said disc being positioned adjacent said movable cpntact member and having a plurality nf spacedpontapt points, 'pbwf nians for rotating said t argey, rotation of "said tn'g t simultaneblisly rotating said shaft and disc so that said movabl contact member engages said coniact points when said gun is prbperly aligned wish said target.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,174,813 Ybunghusband Oct. 3, 1939 8 bjsw -..,J an. 6'. 1942 Shenker Oct. 18, 1949 z p 5 1950 DaEe June 8, 1954 

